Just inside the front doors of Meetup HQ, there’s a huge sign mounted to the wall. It reads “DIO,” which stands for “Do it ourselves.” It’s safe to say we’re a pretty hands on bunch.

It was only fitting that this year, we took our end-of-the-year celebration into our own hands. We transformed Meetup HQ into a velvet ensconced Las Vegas themed palace, brought our own silly Secret Santa gifts, and even hosted the very first annual Meetup 2012 Awards.

When I decided to start the NJ Tech Meetup, I knew it would take a lot of time and dedication, potentially away from my full time focus as founder of weCraft.com. I wasn’t eager to put in tons of time if a high percentage of RSVPs were no-shows at each meetup, a frustration I often heard voiced from organizer friends. I decided to launch our group with a policy to thwart the problem: The No Show List of Shame. Continue Reading →